Former Landfill to Become Haven For Wildlife

British parlance tends to be rather unique: trash is 'rubbish', trashcans are 'dustbins', and former landfills are sometimes 'pristine new wildlife sanctuaries'. For years, folks in the small town of Stourpaine, Dorset County endured living next door to a dump -- but this year, they're getting a wonderful Christmas present of sorts in its place. By year's end, officials say that the decommissioned landfill will be transformed into a haven for local wildlife, a bit of real nature where once it was anything but natural.

According to the Dorset Echo, the 16 acre site will soon boast more than 6,400 native trees and shrubs to serve as sanctuary for animals. By the time planting is finished later this month, the spot is bound to be unrecognizable from its storied history; Between 1966 and its closing in 1993, the plot served as a dump.

County council-member Danny Alder says that the project hopes to invite back some local wildlife that may have been displaced when the land was claimed for waste management 45 years ago.

“We believe this restored hillside will become an important wildlife habitat - particularly for woodland birds. The woodland will be sensitively managed with a mixture of coppicing and thinning to provide timber for firewood," says Alder.

“We expect to see the landscape change within the next fifteen years.”